A large contingent of recruits are expected to be at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Nebraska coaches anticipated an electric environment for the first clash with rival Oklahoma in Lincoln since 2009.
Coaches extended invites to 60 different recruits. The 11 a.m. CT kickoff on national television will reach far more. This gives Nebraska an opportunity to leave a lasting impression on potential future Huskers far beyond the current head coaching situation.
Dae’vonn Hall (4-star receiver, Bellevue West, Class of 2024), Malachi Coleman (4-star receiver, Lincoln East, Class of 2023), Williams Nwaneri (4-star edge rusher, from Missouri, Class of 2024) and Carter Nelson (4-star tight end, Alliance, Class of 2024) are all invited. Nwaneri, is also being heavily recruited by Oklahoma, Alabama and Michigan State.
Also invited is Ezra Vedral, younger brother of former Husker and current Rutgers quarterback Noah Vedral. Ezra is now a senior at Creighton Prep.
Of the 60 recruits, 22 are in the Class of 2023, 29 are in the Class of 2024, seven are in the Class of 2025 and Bellevue West freshman Araf Evans is the lone representative in the Class of 2026. Evans made nine tackles at safety for the T-Birds in his first start against Omaha Westside.
Nebraska interim head coach Mickey Joseph, an energetic recruiter, has the support of athletic director Trev Alberts during this time. Alberts said during his press conference on Sunday that he’d still like to meet with recruits and be on the sidelines to help Joseph however possible. Joseph said building relationships is the baseline for relating to recruits and current players. He’s been a prominent recruiter for Nebraska and LSU, where he recruited Terrace Marshall, John Emery Jr. and Kayshon Boutte, among others.
Alberts said Joseph could earn the permanent head coaching job with the right results. Joseph admitted that’s what he’s working towards.
Recruit Watch
Most recruits who committed to Nebraska during former head coach Scott Frost’s tenure took to Twitter to reaffirm their decisions in the wake of Frost’s dismissal.
Jaidyn Doss, Barry Jackson Jr., Pop Watson, Dylan Rogers, Brock Knutson, Hayden Moore, Riley Van Poppel, Gunnar Gottula, Sam Sledge and Omarion Miller all confirmed their commitments to Nebraska. Moore, Knutson, Sledge and Gottula were all invited to Memorial Stadium for Saturday’s game.
Not going anywhere 🌽🌽 @DonovanRaiola @HuskerFBNation pic.twitter.com/7sQJvfsBLr
— Brock Knutson (@knutson_brock) September 15, 2022
Some Husker commitments haven’t broached the subject of their commitments since Frost’s firing on Sunday. There have been no recruits to date to re-open their commitments. Dwight Bootle II and Benjamin Brahmer, both Nebraska commits who didn’t tweet similar graphics after Frost’s firing, are both invited to the Oklahoma game.
Thursday provided a big early slate of high school games for Nebraska targets. Omaha Central (Caleb Pyform) hosts Elkhorn South (Maverick Noonan, Carson Rauner), Creighton Prep (Sam Sledge) hosting Millard West, and Bellevue West (Daniel Kaelin, Hall, Isaac McMorris) welcomes Kearney. Omaha Westside (Caleb Benning, Christian Jones) plays Millard North (William Granger, Pierce Mooberry, Caden VerMaas, Henry Rehberg) and Lincoln North Star faces Lincoln Southeast (Gottula, Caleb Johnson) on Friday. Those highlighted are Husker targets, most were invited to Saturday’s game.
ICYMI
>> Take a closer look at why head coach Scott Frost’s time helming the Huskers was so unsuccessful.
>> Interim head coach Mikey Joseph said it’s the coaching staff’s focus to look after the current Huskers. Together, they want to salvage the remaining nine games.
>> The Husker football team is in the hands of Joseph, who is effectively the acting head coach, for the remainder of the season.
